Checking in with the Sloane Stephens Foundation

Here’s a look at the highlights from the summer and what we have in store for fall

Author

Sloane Stephens
September 26, 2022

Fall is officially here and we’re SO excited about all the work we’re doing this season at the Sloane Stephens Foundation. 

Love, Love Compton, our signature program, takes tennis into schools by supplying rackets, tennis balls, and portable nets. We transform elementary school playgrounds and parking lots into a world of opportunity. More than 15,000 students in Compton have participated in our programming since 2015 thanks to our incredible staff and team of dedicated volunteers.

We’ve already kicked off our Scholar Tennis at Recess (S.T.A.R.) program for the fall at 13 elementary schools within the Compton Unified School District. STAR takes recess to the next level by using tennis to develop character and physical literacy. We partner with elementary schools throughout the school year to create a sustainable tennis program to be incorporated in the school’s recess schedule. The STAR team spends two days each week at each school leading, modeling, and empowering teachers and students to create a fun, inclusive, structured recess for all students.

The importance of recess can’t be overstated. Research has found that students who have experienced trauma can feel triggered by a lack of structure. Therefore, the clear boundaries and routine of a tennis program can not only help build physical strength and character but can promote emotional healing, too.

This is huge! The mental health of our youth has always been a top priority to me and the SSF is one small way I can do my part.

In addition to our STAR program, we're also running Saturday tennis and high performance this fall. I'm also looking forward to the return of our after-school programing later this month once the school district allows the return of after-school sports post-pandemic.

One reason I’m so pumped about our plans for fall is that we had such a successful summer with our Compton Summer Tennis Camp & Reading Lab. Summer 2022 was fantastic! We had a number of new coaches visiting home from college, which meant our students had incredible coaches and mentors. Our young readers thrived during the reading sessions, and our students saw tremendous success in summer tennis tournaments.

This summer we focused on on-court fitness. Our fitness leader, Edwin, followed an 8-week which helped our students improve agility, speed, and tennis-specific movement.

Through the Compton Summer Tennis Camp & Reading Lab, students throughout Compton not only learn the game of tennis but they also enjoy educational field trips, community activities and academic enrichment to maintain skills throughout summer.

Learning every day is critical to every child’s development. And in the summer, it’s vital to help students retain the information they learned during the school year. That’s what we aim to do through our summer camp. The SSF Summer Reading Readiness Program provides daily skill development activities for kids in kindergarten through third grade. And the SSF Summer Reading Lab offers personalized individualized learning plans for each student.

This summer one of our Love, Love Compton student-athletes had the chance to travel to Washington, DC, to participate in the USTA Foundation's Excellence Team Camp. Nine-year-old Omar also got to visit with me and check out pro tour life at the Citi Open.

SSF has a Development Team within the USTA Foundation's Excellence Program. Excellence Program participants are National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) youth chosen based on their elite level of tennis ability, educational outcomes and commitment to the pathway to become student-athletes at the collegiate and professional levels. The Excellence Program ensures the best coaching and resources are available to those kids with the most desire, athletic potential and financial need.

Not only did Omar have fun, compete, and meet youth from across the country, but he represented the Sloane Stephens Foundation with integrity. Omar received the camp's Sportsmanship Award from Jean Desdunes!

Omar has been a part of our Love, Love Compton program since he was 5 years old. His older brother, Josepth, is one of our incredible coaches and chaperoned Omar on his trip. It’s a family affair!

Omar is one of many superstars in our program. The Dubón brothers -- Ángel, Alejandro, and Edwin – who participate in all of our programming, were featured on Telemundo as Athletes of the Week! We love this triple threat tennis family and we’re honored that SSF can be a part of their journey.

Right before the US Open, I announced my partnership with Lemon Perfect. This included two big updates - 1) Lemon Perfect came on as the official hydration partner of the Sloane Stephens Foundation and 2) Lemon Perfect is supporting my Doc & Glo Scholarship with Bold.org. Can't wait to watch this partnership grow!

We also hosted our first ever in-person event in NYC. It was awesome convening all of our partners and supporters in one room, and I can't wait to do it again next year.

Our Leadership Academy is growing strong too. SSF offers a year-round program for youth throughout the Compton Unified School District. Each student who participates is assigned a dedicated mentor to help them prepare for life after high school. This includes preparing them for college and for their future careers by providing students with information on community, two-year, and four-year colleges, college tours, and discussions of college majors and jobs related to those majors.

Mentors help students develop their leadership skills and teach them how to network with community leaders from business, government, and civic organizations. Throughout the year students also work on a service project geared towards team building, conflict resolution, time management, public speaking and goal setting.

This program is also designed to support undocumented students in their pursuit of education by increasing access to available resources. We employ our academy leader graduates through college and help with post-graduate career planning.

With all that we do at the Sloane Stephens Foundation, our goal is to inspire students to dream big and equip them with the tools they need to make these dreams come true.

If you’d like to help support the work of SSF, there are several ways you can get involved. You can visit sloanestephensfoundation.org to donate and learn more about our programs.

Here is a checklist of various free ways you can support SSF:

We have some BIG news in store for later this fall, and I don't want you to miss out on any of the updates!